Spin by Rebecca Caprara (Robenas Tadesse)

I come back yet again with a captivating Greek mythological story retold in poem form. This time centered around the story of Arachne. Most of you who are reading this have at least some knowledge of the myth of Arachne so I am going to dive right in! 

Unlike the original myth, Caprara begins the book when Arachne is a little child. Arachne’s life as a child is horrible. She has an abnormal gait because of her bow-leggedness, everyone calls her ugly and malformed, her family is poverty-stricken and uneducated, and practically everyone dislikes her except for her mother, little brother, and her best friend, Celandine. Her mother always reassures her and tells her to not let the fools judge her, and that there are other ways to make her voice heard. Arachne’s mother teaches her how to weave intricate tapestries that depict almost any kind of image she wants. Over the years, Arachne becomes an extremely skilled weaver, but she also begins to pick up some of her own opinions. One of the most daring ones is that the gods do nothing for her. She notices that as her family sits in horrible poverty, they still have to give offerings, and she sees this as a complete waste. In her eyes, the gods, especially Athena, are over-praised, arrogant, worthless, and so on. She never really voices these opinions, but this constant buzz of rage begins to get the attention of Athena herself.

As Arachne reaches adolescence, she becomes immersed in the legends of Greek mythology (although obviously, for her it is real life because she is living in the book). She notices common themes in Greece: that a woman’s word was never taken seriously. Countless times, women are sexually assaulted by the gods and left to be killed by their neighbors if they speak up. Even though there is nothing that the locals can do, it doesn’t make it any less disgusting. As Arachne continues to delve into the injustice of her society, she stumbles upon the story of Leucothoe and Helios the sun god (sometimes translated as Apollo). There are numerous interpretations of the myth but in the novel, Leucothoe was a princess, and Helios desired her. In short, Helios sexually assaults Leucothoe. Shockingly, Leucothoe’s father is enraged that she lost her virginity, despite Leucothoe’s honest protests, pleas, and physical burn marks where Helios’ skin touched hers. Repulsively, Leucothoe’s father buries his own daughter alive, and in an act of “overdue pity,” Helios turns Leucothoe into a frankincense tree.

Incredibly enraged, Arachne begins to diligently weave tapestries capturing the overbearing and greediness of the gods, and how they care of nothing but themselves. Arachne becomes slightly terrified by even her own tapestries, suddenly realizing why the villagers never created such images and told such stories. Even the most robust bards would never dare speak ill of the gods, it is so much easier to turn away from the ugly truth. But Arachne did not let cowardice stop her. At this point, Athena is filled with almost as much white-hot anger as Arachne. Although Arachne doesn’t realize it, daunting clues of Athena’s presence begin popping up: the feeling of being watched, an owl hooting in the distance, and extra rows added to Arachne’s works. Even the locals began noticing displeasure at the goddess’ altar. Arachne brushes these signs away, no way Athena knows of her existence…right?

Tragic incidents take place at Arachne’s home village that I will not mention because of spoilers, but in a nutshell, Arachne and Celandie decide to flee to the city of Colophon, where Arachne seeks employment at the textile shops. Arachne quickly outshines the common weavers. Soon, people come far and wide to spectate Arachne’s weaving, and attention is not something Arachne is used to. Athena has been following Arachne’s life for quite some time now, and as the main character gains publicity and praise for her beautiful tapestries, Athena grows furious. Finally, Arachane declares herself to be a more skilled weaver than even Athena, and that is where the goddess snaps…. 

Spin by Rebecca Caprara is truly an amazing book. The fact that it holds true to the original myth but adds so much depth to Arachne’s character is fascinating. Caprara's poems also go together smoothly. Although there is never a rhyme or syllable pattern, each line flows so well that I forget I am reading a poem. Perhaps it's because of how detailed the descriptions of people, places, actions, and emotions are. Before I read Spin I thought of Arachne as a mortal with a big ego filled with hubris, but now I really do understand her anger. I think Spin captures the way that wealth, appearance, and gender usually take control of our society, and transforms this representation into an enthralling Greek mythology retelling. Also, the cover art is simply gorgeous!